KEENING Synonyms: 140 Similar and Opposite Words

keening 1 of 2

adjective

as in wailing

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Dissimilar Words

keening

2 of 2

verb

present participle of keen

as in complaining

to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely victims of the disaster have been keening for weeks about the slowness of governmental aid

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in howling

to make a long loud mournful sound mourners keening for the victims of the bombing

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of keening

Adjective

Languid piano tunes give way to surging, keening tides of strings. — Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026 Speaking of God, the pedal steel is capable of exaltation, too, the rise and fall of its strings able to emulate a glorious choir or a keening request or spread out like the cosmos itself. — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 20 July 2026 The memoir shows little interest in the gambler’s psychology or the keening dramas of the floor. — Dan Piepenbring, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026 This sequence, with its onstage vengeance, despair and keening dialogue, and its offstage look at how Kikuo’s triumph affects the two people closest to him, is one of the most powerful in the movie. — Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2025 But Dunne’s voice, lilting and keening, is rich with empathy. — Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 5 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for keening

Adjective

Sitting opposite an old people’s home in a residential corner of Paris’ 14th arrondissement, La Santé’s unassuming presence is only given away by the occasional wailing siren as prisoners are transported to and from the site.

— Joseph Ataman, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025

Definition of wailing

Verb

The sport is now on TV every night of the week these days—and unlike some traditionalists, football-loving families aren’t complaining.

— Beth Ann Mayer, Parents, 1 Sep. 2026
Even before the eighth inning on Sunday, Flemming spent a great deal of time complaining on the WEEI broadcast.

— Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of complaining

Verb

Trapped in their castle by a howling rainstorm, our minifig royalty takes in a bevy of drenched animals.

— K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 21 Aug. 2026
But be prepared for long mountain views, longer mountain hikes, camping under the northern lights and singing along with howling wolves.

— Ron Spomer, Outdoor Life, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of howling

Verb

For now, however, the company that produces Flock cameras is holding off on technology that can register screaming and perhaps even speech.

— Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026
Harry Styles didn’t need to name-drop Taylor Swift to get his Madison Square Garden crowd screaming.

— Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of screaming

Adjective

And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.

— David Mamet, National Review, 11 Aug. 2022
The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.

— Helen Shaw, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2021

Definition of weeping

Verb

The state compared Atrium to a soccer team whining about the referees.

— Bob Herman, STAT, 18 Aug. 2026
The epic whining heard across MLB over the Tarik Skubal acquisition is evidence Andrew Friedman and Dodgers management are a masterclass in demonstrating creative leadership to cultivate a winning ballclub.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026

Definition of whining

Adjective

Houston could soar within it because Parton imbued it with a musical and sentimental purity that made room for the enormity of her expressiveness.

— Ann Powers, NPR, 26 Aug. 2026
Ditsy floral quilt toppers add a sentimental anchor to bedrooms, while vintage pieces threaded throughout the rest of the property have been lovingly sourced by the experts at New York’s The Somerset House.

— Dipal Acharya, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of sentimental

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keened

keening

keenly

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“Keening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/keening. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of keening

adjective

verb

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